How are you guys dealing with 10% increase in property tax every year?

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greenarrow118@reddit

I thought Abbott got rid of the property taxes?

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Corgisarethebest123@reddit

Why hasn’t your salary gone up in 4 years?

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boldjoy0050@reddit

Most employers give shitty 2-5% raises which is barely enough to cover the health insurance premium increases.

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Many-Tomatillo9374@reddit

Hire a property tax company to represent you. I use Raytax and they have been outstanding. They charge 30% of what they save you in taxes. Well worth it!

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I protest on the DCAD website by submitting screenshots from Zillow or Redfin of similar properties that sold recently around me that are less than my appraised value. Free, no having to pay a percentage of savings to a third party, and brought my appraisal down $40K. Took me like 20 min to do it.

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Istiaque_Zaman@reddit

Same situation, salary flat since 2021 but my assessed value kept climbing. You can hire a property tax agent on contingency so you only pay if they actually get a reduction, I ran mine through Resolute last year in Dallas County. You could also file for a homestead exemption if you haven't already, that caps increases at 10%.

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TexasBaconMan@reddit

Protest every year

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ihatedisney@reddit

Ownwell does it for me

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

I used an ai company as well but it’s $100 flat for the packet. If you don’t get a reduction you get a refund.

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ihatedisney@reddit

I think i paid $200 and got $600 back. It’s more about the time. I’ve protested myself before and its a pain.

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

I have a couple neighbors using it and their protest is still processing. I’m confused if it’s actually taking it beyond the phone call meeting and doing something else with it, or if they had a different date for it. Curious to see the dollar amount reduction they get. My protest took me about 15 mins but I was on hold for 45. Think I spent maybe 30 mins reviewing the packet to prep talking points a few days prior.

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TexasBaconMan@reddit

how much do you pay for that?

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Worldly_Star_9559@reddit

Had Claude AI help me with mine this year. Reduced my home’s appraised value by $50k this year. You can download the bulk data from DCAD website and feed prompts to help Claude build your protest argument.

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

I asked it to do the same but it said it has no access to the MLS to get comps from.

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Worldly_Star_9559@reddit

You don’t want to take the comps argument. Using the bull data you can build an argument on average % increase on your surrounding streets over 3-4 years. DCAD uses a grouping or mass appraisal method. Prompting value to build a case around historical increases will work, basically if in years past increased value has carried widely (e.g. 2024-2025 you saw no increase but 2025-2026 there was a 15% increase on your home, but surrounding streets only saw 5-7% increases - that’s not a justified increase if they’re actually following a mass appraisal method. *im not an appraiser* But it’s a rational stance to take). This becomes challenging if the houses on either side of you sold last year. Worked well for us as not a single home sold on our street in 2025.

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

Is this the equal and uniform approach? Or is there a different name for what you’d be arguing for?

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TexasBaconMan@reddit

I had Gemini do mine. It found great comps. Got it down 60k.

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quantumthrashley@reddit

Same! Took under ten minutes for two houses.

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ktt0724@reddit

Can you share the prompt you used?

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mrezee@reddit

25% of whatever they save you on property tax

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TexasBaconMan@reddit

How much did they save you?

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ThetaFarmingRegard@reddit

Got someone that takes 15%, how much does your guy normally save you %?

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sband3@reddit

I have been protesting every year but this year, they still went up 10% because they have a rule that allows them to increase it up to 10% every year (meaning they lower your homestead exemption so your taxable amount is higher). It’s truly not right. Money grabbers. So sick of paying them taxes on a house that’s paid off

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Whitey138@reddit

Newish homeowner here. When it comes to selling the house, does the price you initially put it for sale at have any relation to the taxable rate? I have no idea how most of this actually works.

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DonutSpores@reddit

The rate is stati (unless the city/county decide to raise them), but they'll typically use the sales price to recalibrate the value upon which they applying the rate for taxing purposes. Depending on factors that could raise or lower the amount the new owner will pay next year. They are only allowed to raise their estimated value of the home up to a maximum of 10% per year. So if the market increases more than 10% in value per year they'll adjust up until things stabilize.

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goodjuju123@reddit

No. But the actual sales price is considered best evidence of value.

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Quitcha_Bitchin@reddit

At work?

Salary has not gone up in four years?

That's not a tax problem. I mean protest the taxes but the price of everything goes up every year if your paycheck isn't keeping up it may be time to find a new position in the field paying todays rates.

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SimpleVegetable5715@reddit

Stagnant wages are a very real thing in the US, changing jobs doesn’t help, because that’s often what the entire industry pays. I made a 0.6% raise this year, but guess what? The other employer in my field that pays more, I’d have a 7 cent/hour raise. So it’s not really worth changing companies for that when I’m used to my current company.

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Quitcha_Bitchin@reddit

Totally anecdotal.

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Hot-Education4582@reddit

Get a load of this guy

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Quitcha_Bitchin@reddit

Get a load of yourself.

You're gonna stay poor if you do not demand your worth. Most company's are paying higher wages to new hires then they are to long time staffers. So you research a little and make a move. The younger you are the easier it is but make no mistake this is crunch time. Get what you can get while you can fucking get it.

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Dry_burrito@reddit

Even when I worked at home Depot they would give the standard 3% percent raise. Never had a place that did stick to this.

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SimpleVegetable5715@reddit

Yeah we just did this, haven’t done any renovations or remodels like some of our neighbors have. Take photos. Protest at the tax office.

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The-William-Munny@reddit

This is the way.

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

Protest every year. My tax bill went from 540k down to 490k which negated the 10% increase. Gonna get a check back too.

This year was a great year to protest for most people. All the comps the county is using is from 2024. So many spring-fall 2025 comps that’ll tank their numbers when you get them swapped out.

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longhornmamba@reddit

Did you still protest?

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PocketGddess@reddit

Wow, I’m impressed. I protest every year but never seem to make any headway. It doesn’t help that most of the homes in my neighborhood are fully remodeled with gorgeous luxury interiors and my place is still original 1950s builders grade. Not sure how much longer I can keep up.

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SimpleVegetable5715@reddit

I live in an un-renovated house. There are people who will come to your house and see it’s not renovated. It also helps to have pictures from Zillow and Redfin of other houses in your neighborhood, and then have pictures of your house when you go to protest at the tax office.

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

If they’re using renovated comps you can submit photos with your comps to get a downward adjustment. It’s not all contingent on market value. There’s some computation they use when that discrepancy exists for renovations

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Right_Letterhead_120@reddit

You say that with confidence as if the assessments are based on rigorous data science.

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

They’re based on cherry picked sales by the county. So protest and cherry pick your own then argue that theirs are garbage

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TXWayne@reddit

You mean your assessed value. If your tax bill is $540k then I admire you being able to pay that….

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DistinctAd3865@reddit

This is correct, assessed value.

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SuccotashOther277@reddit

Most property taxes have gone down the last few years because of the policy of compression. Do you have a homestead exemption? You either don't have the homestead or are in a super hot area with skyrocketing property values. As others have stated, you need to contest your taxes each year and get a new job. 4 years without a raise is unheard of because of inflation.

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Avocation79@reddit (OP)

I am in Frisco and property values have been going up crazy.

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longhornmike2@reddit

If their district has been compressing they could will be hitting the floor there and thus little to no more compression moving forward. All districts must stay within a 10% band.

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WhoKnewHomesteading@reddit

I signed up with Ownwell and they protest our property taxes on our behalf every year. They only charge if they get a reduction and even then they only charge 25% of your savings. If they save your $500 off your bill you only owe $125 so you are still saving $375

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Spyu@reddit

Renting

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DrDestruct0@reddit

Don't forget to file for homestead exemption

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Traditional_Tooth_12@reddit

Got laid off in Jan. So I’ve been selling feet pics.

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SimpleVegetable5715@reddit

Ah, now feet pics make sense. At least I keep my dignity over other types of pics people want.

Like someone posted the most average innocent food picture, yet they were in their own kitchen barefoot and their DMs exploded.

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askmeforashittyfact@reddit

How’s that going? As a first time father looking to have another kid soon, I need to afford daycare for 2

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goodjuju123@reddit

lol!

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MikeFromSuburbia@reddit

Don’t have the second kid just yet

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TheBrettFavre4@reddit

Let us get a free sample, we’ll give you an honest evaluation.

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askmeforashittyfact@reddit

My feet would end up in the “Troll feet” category

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Goetia-@reddit

Maybe we could pop those boots off and kick it around a bit.

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Mr-MoneyShift@reddit

Can I buy some?

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DobieLove2019@reddit

Prove it.

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JustLookinJustLookin@reddit

Got laid in January. I can’t stop telling people.

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Ice-Teets@reddit

Recently I lowered my home insurance. The reason I never tried that was because I didn’t think it was so expensive. My mortgage was already low at 1600, but I changed my insurance to only cover the current value(not the rebuild value). Now I pay $1200.

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IWasTouching@reddit

I assembled my protest using Claude and my appraisal stayed the same as last year. I’ll take the win.

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Radiant_Transition_8@reddit

Eat canned food

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Avocation79@reddit (OP)

I am new to TX and to Dallas. I feel it is unfair to tax unrealized gains. I feel that an income tax state is far better. You pay higher taxes, if you earn more. Just because someone thinks there is value in the walls, it is unfair and unethical to tax. Seems unscrupulous to me.

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goodjuju123@reddit

Preach.

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JohnPaulDavyJones@reddit

Brother, how has your pay not gone up in four years?

The tax increases suck, but you’re getting absolutely wrecked by your employer. When I worked at UNT and the school was broke as hell, we still got 1.5~ 2% every year.

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Avocation79@reddit (OP)

Wasn’t your increase in property taxes dollars more than salary increase dollars?

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JohnPaulDavyJones@reddit

Nope. I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about with this 10% increase, but we’re also only in our third year as homeowners. My raise this year was $3300, a little over $5000 for my wife and I together, and our final increase in property taxes this year was something like $450.

Seriously though, how have you gone four years without a raise? We got 3% across the board this year and had a guy leave because it was low.

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hastinapur@reddit

Property taxes you can protest but what about 20% increase in insurance?

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No_Bird6472@reddit

Protest every year

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AssignmentSecret@reddit

I protest. Used Claude to find comps and generate a report. Fill out Collin country property tax protest with Claude document. Mail it. Lowered assessed value by $21K. Took me 15 minutes total. One of a few ai use cases that saved me time, headache and sanity.

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ZeroSumGame007@reddit

15 minutes? Wow. I can barely get my computer booted up in that time. Think I need to invest in a new computer

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ThatOneUpittyGuy@reddit

Buddy you need to switch to NVME drive

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ZeroSumGame007@reddit

What day

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superdrone@reddit

… i hope you’re joking about your boot time lmao

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AssignmentSecret@reddit

As promised, here's my prompt:

you are a property tax specialist helping a client who lives at XXXXX. Look at other comps that achieve a a lower tax assessment result for client by finding nearby properties that have a lower market value and value per square inch that is lower than client's property. Use zillow, redfin and other public data to come up with comps. Then, use that data to create a property tax appeal - similar to how a law firm would do it for a client to be used specifically for XXX county texas property tax appeal form and process.

Follow up prompt: Deliver in docx format

Be sure you review the output to make sure its not hallucinating or anything, but it sure saved me a lot of time and I had to pay literally no one. I just used the free version of claude. Good luck!

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Realistic_Winter5754@reddit

You sure know your prompt engineering!

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Chance-Glove1589@reddit

Holy crap - that’s awesome! I would never have thought about that!

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AssignmentSecret@reddit

Be sure to ask it to find comps to protest tax appeal with objective of lowering your tax bill. Ask it for comparable homes nearby with similar size and rooms. Ask it to generate address, sq footage, cost of home, and cost per sq inch. I didn’t use pictures but you could ask it for it pictures of the home and your own using Redfin. Couldn’t hurt. Prompt was maybe a paragraph. If I can find what I used once I’m home from son’s birthday I’ll post. It did work without a hearing. I just took what the county gave me. The hearing is usually a farce. Judge 95% of the time sides with assessor, since they work together everyday.

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Puzzleheaded_Web6540@reddit

You’re a huge help!!!!

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jaycawcaw@reddit

Following to see your prompt!

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True-Profile-5369@reddit

I’m a real estate agent, and you really cannot rely on AI alone for that. In Texas, actual sales prices are not publicly disclosed the way they are in many other states. There are several states that handle it similarly, partly because public disclosure can influence future tax assessments.
That’s why you need access to Realtor data and market interpretation from an experienced agent. AI can pull broad information, but it often cannot see the true closed sales numbers or the context behind them. Without accurate sold data, it cannot reliably determine what a home is truly worth.

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bro69@reddit

A lot of us just plan on killing ourselves when we’re out of money

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rgp1235@reddit

The real key to dealing with property taxes is to not being able to afford any property to begin with 👌🏾

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avebelle@reddit

but theres no income tax in tx.. its great /s

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Adventurous-Gur7524@reddit

Investing,Working overtime, I try to move up or look for a higher paying job.

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Adventurous-Gur7524@reddit

lol getting downvoted, okay. Protest all you want, use all the exemptions but at the end of the day you have to get ahead, increase income, invest, ect. Live in a modest home and stay within your means.

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AvailableReporter484@reddit

Well, if you’re the majority of this state, you continue to vote Republican because they’re the party of lowering taxes LMFAO

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jaydee288@reddit

Idk just bend over and pay it lol. What can we realistically do? Protesting is hit or miss, I haven't really found it to be worth it unless you have a good case to support it.

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Cautious-Rabbit-5493@reddit

Seriously! I protested and had to go in front of a review board and they still denied my claim. we just bought the house last year and showed photos that my house doesn’t match the comps.

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StrawberryHour7102@reddit

We protested, went before the review board and they knocked off 200K from our value. We submitted multiple quotes from different companies for repairs.

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Appropriate_Shake_25@reddit

Biggest scam I’ve ever seen. They just make up a number without any reasoning. It’s out of control

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rvbeachguy@reddit

Texas is a no state tax state so it's buried in the property taxes it's same as states having state tax. Taxes in Texas is higher than most states combined tax rate

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JDSwell@reddit

My property taxes have only gone up about 2% per year for the last 3 years. I live in the part of the city of Dallas that is in Collin County.

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punkerjim@reddit

My assessment went down this year

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Comfortable-Spell-75@reddit

Can we protest insurance rates too? I’m tired boss 🫩

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adam_ltt@reddit

honestly a lot of people just arent dealing with it well. insurance + property taxes together have gotten brutal here the last few years

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The_Erlenmeyer_Flask@reddit

I don't. I hired Ownwell to protest my taxes. $2024; total market price on my property was $207, 604. This year, it's $141, 986. And because they didn't save me that much this year, I didn't have to pay them for protesting my property tax.

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Rent_Legitimate@reddit

Is homestead 140k now?

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peterpiper77@reddit

Mine have gone down significantly the last 2 years by using Ownwell to protest for me. Takes none of my time, and they only charge 25% of the savings. They saved me $1,700 last year and $1,100 this year.

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Drewskeet@reddit

Protest. Every year. For Tarrant county there’s an automated fast protest option. I’ve had my lowered every year for 4 years straight.

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prnmedadvice@reddit

Moving

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True-Profile-5369@reddit

Do you try to fight it?

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Asleep_Ad_5711@reddit

100% P&T

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MidnightGloomy7016@reddit

Realtors will protest for you as well. One of their side gigs.

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TheChrisSuprun@reddit

I say keep voting for the same people over and over again because they introduce cool performative resolutions on Gaza, sexuality, and sports teams AND they get endorsed by the local political party despite being in nonpartisan races.

These same folks are by and large the same ones that keep incompetent city management in place, skip doing maintenance, and want to give away City Hall to casino billionaires.

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Nemesisguy214@reddit

Getting harder and harder every year

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TeraByteOfficial@reddit

not even possible.

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MapPuzzleheaded4983@reddit

Protest your property taxes every year no matter what.

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Fullmetalx117@reddit

Ownwell may sound like a scam but they’ve legit helped with this and was easy

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Ok-Party-3033@reddit

Hurry up and hit age 65 ?

(sorry) I dunno, man … maybe change jobs.

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Substantial-Ad-8575@reddit

We have been fighting valuation every year. Saw decreases in the last 2 years. Then smaller gains than county assessment for 11 out of the last 15 years.

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Grand-County-8955@reddit

Sell it and start renting.

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JustMyThoughts2525@reddit

You’re salary will depreciate most years if you’re income isn’t exceeding inflation, and 4 years is a long time to not get an increase in salary.

In your situation, you can protest the assessment value of your home. If that doesn’t work, then you’ll have to sacrifice something to spend money on your property taxes.

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ihatemendingwalls@reddit

I'm trying to sell my house for a developer to replace it with apartments but my neighbors and city councilor don't think we should add housing to the fastest growing region of the richest country in history

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ApprehensiveAnswer5@reddit

If you are not protesting every year, you should.

Also, if you don’t have a homestead exemption and this is your primary residence, please get that done as well.